Running Out the Clock
by Silver-Firelizard
Summary: It is a basketball Fic, where Kaoru's father is her abusive coach and Kenshin is a boy from the rival school and star point guard for their basketball team. Yes this summary does suck but give it a read on a leap of faith. Pairings: KxK AxM YxT SxM


**Hey ya all. I know! "Why the heck is she starting a new story!? FINISH BLACK COVEN!" Yeah…working on that. I wanted to try this one and see where it goes. I have another one that is a vampire one. SO anyways I'll see how well this one does. I'm torn between making this a gender bender or not. I originally started it to be but as I worked on it really didn't feel like one. You all decide!**

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin or anything to do with the manga, anime, or movie.)**

Kaoru walked up the steps, her gym bag over her shoulder. She was exhausted from practice, it had been brutal. They were getting ready for the match up with Hudson High. Their coach had made them go an extra half hour, although Kaoru had stayed for another half hour, knowing she would catch hell if she didn't. Walking in the door of the house, she went to the laundry room and dropped off her bag, before heading to the kitchen.

Kaoru's mother Jun was working on dinner as she went to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water before she sat down at the island. "Smells good, Mom, are Dad and Kai home yet?" Kaoru asked cracking the seal on the bottle.

Jun turned and shook her head. "Not yet. You know how your father gets with his rivalry." Her mother waved her hand in the air, as she rolled her eyes. Kaoru chuckled as she took a drink. They both knew very well, how bad Kaoru's father could be.

Drakewood was Kingston High's biggest rival. Kaoru's father was the Coach for Kingston Private Boys High school. Her dad had got the job when her twin brother and she had turned thirteen. Since then they had become the top ranked team for Basketball. He wanted Kai to go there, while Kaoru went to, the oh so original named, Queenston. It was the sister school to Kingston, which was so hard to guess. Kaoru also had to play for the girls' team and Kaoru's father drilled her about making them the top, just like the boys' were. Which was something easier said than done.

Coach Kamiya had taught them basketball ever since they could pick up a ball. He had coached them when they played Junior Hoopsters. It wasn't uncommon for a girl to play on a boys' team, if they were lacking players. Which Coach Kamiya always seemed too, conveniently enough for Kaoru. He had always taught Kaoru and Kai to give everything you had and then some.

As the twins got older and had to play on different teams, Kaoru had to have a different coach. That didn't stop her father though, she didn't just have to listen to her coach. During a game, she also had to listen to her father screaming from the stands. The one time Kaoru didn't and actually ignored him, she was all but dragged out of the school in front of everyone, on top of getting her ass ripped the whole way out. Coach Kamiya made her run drills til she dropped from exhaustion, the same night. Needless to say she learned her lesson, but Kai had lost something… all respect for their father.

Their father was hard on them and nothing they did was right or enough. He pushed Kai to be the best, problem was Kai didn't have the love or skill for basketball that Kaoru did. Even as bad as their father treated Kai, he believed their dad was downright abusive to Kaoru. Where Kaoru just went with it and took it, Kai fought against it. He was the first to call out Coach Kamiya when he got out of line. For all of these things, Kai resented Coach Kamiya.

A sudden slamming door, signaled that Kai was home and most likely not happy. Kaoru heard him storm up the stairs, followed by their father screaming after him. "KAI! Get back here!"

Kaoru looked at her mother with a dull look that said _"here we go again."_. Jun let out a sigh and nodded, as she headed out the door. The girls had grown used to them fighting. It seemed like an every night occurrence almost.

Heading upstairs they found Coach Kamiya banging and yelling on Kai's door. "Do you realize what exactly you have done!? Kai get out here we need to talk!"

Kaoru knew Kai wasn't going to open his door. Her mom was going to have to calm her father's temper first; even then it wouldn't get her brother out. Kaoru watched as her mother went to get her father away from the door and try to talk him down. Kaoru went to her room and climbed out the window. She ninja-ed her way over to her brother's window, which was open for her.

Pulling herself in the room, Kai was sitting on his bed with his headphones turned up. When he saw Kaoru come in through his window he took off his headset, as if it was no big deal that his sister came in through the window. "Mom taking care of the beast?"

Kaoru nodded, "So what did you do to piss him off this time?" Kaoru and Kai were close, always had been. So she knew he lived to give their father a hard time. Getting suspended, fighting, and just causing trouble for their father to clean up, as he always said. Kaoru knew that Kai never had a love for basketball that she did. He loved music and was very talented in it. He had tried out for Kingston band and actually got accepted as a freshman. It didn't last long, because when their dad found out, he had a little chat with the Band Director. The next day, Kai was kicked out of band. After that Kai did everything he could to get kicked off the basketball team.

Kai smirked and tossed his headphones to the side. "Got myself kicked out of Kingston."

Kaoru's mouth fell open. It was no wonder their father was furious. "Wow, you over achieved in your goal don't ya think."

"Yep, Principal finally had enough. Not even dad could sweet talk him." Kai got up and went to sit next to Kaoru on the window seat.

"That's a shocker. What did you do this time?" Kaoru asked as he came over.

Kai was grinning ear to ear as he spoke. "Well seems that they don't like when you set off the fire alarm… especially in the middle of the pep assembly."

"No!" Kaoru said with a fake gasp. "Not with the big game tomorrow night, say it isn't so." Kaoru chuckled at the idea of Kai botching the big pep rally. Their rivalry with Drakewood was what that school lived for.

Kaoru had gone to the school numerous times, but never stayed long. Kaoru hated going into the building, she only ever got hit on and ogled at by all the boys. She swore all Kingston took in were stuck up pricks and perverted tools. One boy named Enishi in particular, who was her father's star player. He had even been gutsy enough to try and feel her up. Thankfully Kai stepped in, his reward for defending his sister was a week in-school suspension.

Kaoru's father didn't do anything about it, in fact he defended his player over his own son. Kaoru and Kai had known their father would do just that, as Coach Kamiya was teasing the boys about who he'd let date her moments before. Kaoru stayed quite, usually did when her father made his offhand comments about her.

Kai laid his head on Kaoru's shoulder, pulling her back from her thoughts. Smiling at him she said. "You know you could have gladly come over to Queenston and interrupt our rally."

Kai started chuckling then, "Yeah I should of. You should have seen dad's face. It was right in the middle of his big speech he always gives."

"You stole his thunder and embarrassed him, way to go Champ." Kaoru put her head on Kai's, leaning against him. "So what are you going to do now?"

Kai shrugged then let out a heavy sigh. "Dad said public school in the car, like that would bother me."

There was a knock at the door, "Kai, Kaoru come down for dinner." Jun always knew that if Kai or Kaoru was having a bad day the other one would be with them.

"Looks like it's time to face the music." Kai said before they moved to get up. "You ready for some yelling?" Kai looked to his twin, who gave him a reassuring smile.

"Always am." Kaoru got to her feet, holding out her hand to help her brother up. They headed down the stairs to the kitchen. The moment they entered the kitchen, Coach Kamiya had a death glare for Kai. That was all he did as he sat at the table, keeping his mouth shut. It was eerily silent in the room, as they sat down. Kaoru looked from her mom to her dad, then down to her plate. This wasn't going to be good.

They all ate in silence, only with the occasional interruption of passing the salt. About midway through the dinner Kai was the first to break the silence. "So Sis, think the Drakewood girls gonna be any competition?"

He just had to break the silence over basketball, was what Kaoru was thinking. Shrugging she put down her water. "They are good this year, they got Makimachi-" A snort from their father cut Kaoru off.

"You cannot call them good, just because of that girl. You can hardly call her a ball player." Coach Kamiya didn't look up once.

"I don't think she's that bad, Dad. She is a pretty good shot." Kaoru tried to defend the girl, but it only provoked her father further.

Coach Kamiya just shook his head and spoke with great disappointment. "Then you must not know what a good player looks like, that's probably why you cannot be a great player."

"Well you would know, wouldn't you Dad. I mean you went pro…oh wait… No, you didn't." Kai snapped bitterly at his father. Kai's blood had started boiling when their dad put down Kaoru. He also knew what exact buttons to push with their dad to set him off.

"Kai!" Jun called the warning but he took no heed. Coach Kamiya's fists slammed against the table, jarring everything on it. He looked up glaring daggers into his own son.

"You're already treading on very thin ice, Kai." Coach Kamiya growled.

"Oh really dad, what are you going to do? Run me until my feet bleed, or til I drop like you do Kaoru?" Kai sat back crossing his arms over his chest, returning his father's glare.

Kaoru just wanted to sink into the floor. Why did she have to be dragged into this. She knew that this was only the beginning of their fight. Kaoru watched as the little vain in her dad's head began to pop out.

"I have had it with your attitude, boy!" Coach Kamiya pointed an anger finger at Kai. "You are out of this house as of tomorrow!"

"Why wait!? I'll be out tonight!" Kai pushed himself away from the table

Coach Kamiya got to his feet as well, "Wisest choice you have made yet!"

"THAT IS IT!" Jun Kamiya was on her feet now. It was not very often that their mother stepped in but when she did, she made herself heard. What Jun Kamiya said was final. "Kai, you are not going anywhere! Sit back down both of you and I will tell you just what is going to happen!"

Both of the Kamiya men took their time sitting back down, neither of them ceasing to glare at one another. Jun remained standing as her eyes shifted from her son to her husband.

"Since Kai is no longer allowed to go to Kingston," Jun looked at her son then, "You will be going to live with your Uncle." Kaoru looked to Kai, who looked like he'd rather be kicked out of the house. Their Mother's brother Saito was not really the easiest person to get along with.

Kaoru could not help but feel sadness set in. They may not go to the same school but they still lived in the same house. Now Kaoru would be left alone in the house, with no one that would be on her side. The sadness, which had set into the pit of her stomach, turned into a fear just thinking of being left alone.

Jun's voice pulled Kaoru back to the topic at hand. "Neither of you will fight with one another. If you cannot carry on a conversation and it is going to be nothing more than argument, you will not talk to one another. Are we clear!?" No one said anything in the short pause that Jun gave them. "Then it is settled!"

The Kamiyas finished their dinner in silence, not even having small talk. The room was just bone chilling quiet. For the rest of the night that heavy vibe hung over the house.

**So there is the first chapter. Tell me what you think and if I should make it a gender bender or not.**


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